


Spring Cold

by artisticBunny, samithemunchkin



Series: Shine (Equestrian AU) [2]
Category: The Baseballs (Band)
Genre: Equestrian, Gay, Horses, M/M, Romance, Slow Build, farrier, gay equestrians, gay relationship, show jumping
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-28
Updated: 2016-02-28
Packaged: 2018-05-23 18:23:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,704
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6125878
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/artisticBunny/pseuds/artisticBunny, https://archiveofourown.org/users/samithemunchkin/pseuds/samithemunchkin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sam finds Rüdiger late in the evening in his horse's stall, sick to the point of passing out.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

_March_

Rüdiger stumbled slowly down the stable corridor, leading his mare through the rows of occupied stalls, with some horses sticking out their heads to neigh at them softly in greeting. It was late, it had been another busy day, by afternoon he’d lost count on how many horses he had actually had to ride. His head ached so bad and he sighed heavily as they finally reached right stall and Florinchellie went in eagerly and he couldn’t help but smile when she went to tug a mouthful of hay out of the haynet before turning back to face him.

“Oh Chellie...I’m sorry, you must have been hungry...” He said softly, taking off his helmet and hanging it on the stall door before stepping in and cradling her head in his arms, closing his aching eyes as he pressed his forehead against hers and letting out another sigh. “You did so good tonight, I’m sorry I was messing up the whole time, you deserved better...” He whispered, his voice sounding weak and raspy even to his own ears as he stroked her cheeks and neck before slowly taking a step back. “Let’s get you untacked and tucked in...”

He set to do just that, reaching out with shaking hands to open up all the buckles on the bridle before taking them off, making a face when the bit came out all dirty with half eaten hay.

“Eww, nasty...” He whined but then suddenly his vision blurred and he leaned forward heavily to steady himself against his horse, only to have a coughing fit hit him next, making him hold on to the saddle for dear life. “F-fuck...fuck...”

Florinchellie turned to look back at him and softly nuzzled his shoulder with her muzzle before she suddenly turned to look at the door and neighed softly.

“Rüdiger?” Came a voice and before he could even begin to think of a reply strong arms wrapped around him, turning him around and he actually whimpered when his legs completely gave out from under him and he collapsed against a muscular chest. As his coughing finally subsided he slowly forced his eyes open and found a pair of concerned baby blue eyes staring back at him.

“S-Sam?” He rasped out, frowning up at the taller man in confusion. “What...what are you still doing here?”

Sam couldn’t help but chuckle at that, he’d been trying to get the older man to call him by his nickname for weeks, since everyone else already did but Rüdiger had proven to be stubborn and insistently kept calling him Sven to Sam’s annoyance. He helped Rüdiger stand up straighter, though he still kept his arms tightly around the shaking body. “I could ask you the same damn thing, didn’t I tell you to go home earlier?” He countered. He had noticed Rüdiger acting strange all day, stumbling into things and struggling with things he normally wouldn’t and being uncharastically absent-minded and quiet while riding. When he’d started coughing by afternoon Sam had decided to approach him, asking him if he was alright and even after the older man had insisted he was fine he’d called him out on it and told him he should go home.

“Couldn’t….I promised to...to train Gigi and Tino and I couldn’t cancel Mr. Käufer’s dressage lessons and I needed to ride Chellie too and...just...I can’t...”

“You’re pushing yourself too hard...” Sam murmured, his voice laced with worry, though he smiled when Florinchellie nuzzled Rüdiger’s back and fumbled with his hair at the back of his neck. “See, even Chellie is worried. Come on...” He said, finally pulling away a little and taking the bridle from Rüdiger’s grip.

“No but...” Rüdiger tried to argue, not letting go of the bridle but Sam easily tugged it out of his grasp and guided him out of the stall.

“I can turn her in, don’t worry. Just...tell me what you need me to do.” Sam said as he gently sat him down on the large equipment box outside of the stall.

“O-okay...um well Chellie’s cooling boots are in the freezer, she needs to have those on for at least 15 minutes, I usually...I put those on first, then brush her and then put her rug on before I take the boots off.”

“Alright, doesn’t sound all too complicated.” Sam said cheerily, smiling assuredly as he patted the smaller man’s shoulder. “Sit tight, I got this.” He added and went back in the stall, taking off all the leg protectors and boots before finally removing the saddle.

Rüdiger watched him quietly, quite surprised by how calmly Sam worked with his horse and how Florinchellie didn’t seem bothered by a stranger taking care of her at all, she looked more curious and her ears perked up every time Sam would talk to her in a quiet voice that Rüdiger couldn’t quite make out what he was saying.

When he came back out with the all the tack, Rüdiger stood up enough to show where everything went and where stuff was in the box, then instructing where the saddle and bridles went in the tackroom and Sam listened carefully, putting everything away as neatly as he could and hurrying back with the cooling boots.

“Cold?” He asked when he came back, hiding his worry with a soft chuckle as he took in the sight of Rüdiger nested up under a thick rug.

“A bit...and Chellie likes prewarmed rugs anyway, she gets chilly just as easily as me...” Rüdiger mumbled as he watched Sam wrap the boots around the horse’s legs, resisting not to point out how they were just a little too wonky and unevenly wrapped than he would have liked and instead grabbed a soft brush from the box.

“Is that so?” Sam said amused, stroking the horse’s neck a few times before taking the brush handed to him and setting to brush her with long, steady strokes, occasionally feeling her back and muscles with his bare hand to check for any tensions or soreness.

Rüdiger continued to watch in silence, now completely amazed how Sam managed to make Florenchellie relax so completely she looked more asleep than awake if she hadn’t been eating her hay. He was so transfixed by the sight he completely lost the track of time and he jumped in surprise when Sam was suddenly right next to him, looking at him with those worried eyes again.

“You alright? Are you feeling worse?” He asked carefully, studying the smaller man closely.

“N-no, I just...zoned out a little, sorry...you, you’re done?”

“Yeah, I asked if you wanted to hand over the rug.” Sam said, frowning a little as he looked around them. “Do you have anything here you could put on? I could give you my jacket but it’s in my car.”

“No I’ll, I’ll be okay...here.” Rüdiger said with a small smile as he slowly unwrapped the rug from around himself but when he couldn’t quite lift it to hand it over he cursed under his breath and pouted when Sam easily took it from him. “It...it needs to be buckled quite tightly...Chellie tends to roll around a lot when she lays down...” He mumbled when Sam went back in the stall.

“Got it. And I can take the boots off now, right?”

“Yeah, I think it’s been long enough. Th-thank you...” Rüdiger said quietly, hanging his head and wrapping his arms tightly around himself as he started shivering again. “You...you never told me why you’re still here at this hour though?”

“No problem.” Sam smiled at him from the other side of the horse before finishing with the last of the buckles. “And Sabine asked if I could stay later to check up on two of the horse with hoof abscesses if their wrappings are still in place. I have the day off tomorrow so I thought why not. I was just about to leave though.” He explained, patting Florenchellie a few times and smiling as she nudged him back before he stepped out of the stall, closing the door properly and placing the boots on the box.

“O-oh...I see...” Rüdiger mumbled, more to himself but when he tried to jump off the box and back to his feet a steady arm on his middle stopped him.

“Hold up. Now that that’s all done...” Sam said softly and Rüdiger actually squirmed under his gaze and when Sam placed a gentle hand over his forehead he shivered violently under the cool touch. “Fuck, Rüdiger you’re burning up. How are you planning on getting home?”

“Um...by car?” Rüdiger tried smiling but it came out more of a wince, and when his vision blurred again he squeezed his eyes shut tightly, lifting a shaking hand to press his fingers against his temple. “Just...I need to sit down a while longer I’ll be fine...you don’t need to stay...”

“The hell I don’t, I am not letting you get behind the wheel in that condition.” Sam said sternly, giving the other man no room for arguments. He bit his lip for a moment, looking at the shivering man in front of him before he quickly came to the decision. “I live ten minutes away, it’s nothing fancy but I can get you a hot shower and a bed faster than it would take to drive you home. Here...” He said, then quickly unbuttoned his sweater and wrapped it around the smaller man’s shoulders and even rubbed at his arms to help warm him up.

“B-but...I don’t...I don’t want to be a burden you’ve...you’ve already done more than enough...” Rüdiger still tried to argue, but he couldn’t quite hide the content sigh when he felt those strong hands warming him up, and the memory of being wrapped in Sam’s warm embrace earlier filled his mind, making him blush and for the moment he was glad his cheeks were already bright red because of the fever.

“You’re not. And I can take you home in the morning.” Sam smiled reassuringly, letting his hands linger on the smaller man’s arms for a moment before he pulled away. “I won’t take no for an answer so come on, up you get.” He said playfully, moving to the side so he could wrap a supporting arm around Rüdiger’s middle to help him stand, though when the smaller man’s legs nearly gave out again he frowned. “I um...can you walk? I can uh, carry you if...I mean you weigh next to nothing so-”

“N-no! No I can...I can walk just...slowly...” Rüdiger insisted, taking a few deep breaths and forcing his legs to work, taking a few tentative steps. “See?”

“Uhuh.” Sam said a little uncertainly but let it slide for now and just stayed by the smaller man’s side as they slowly made their way down the corridor. And even though Rüdiger tried really hard, by the time they made it outside he was clinging to Sam and when they came by a bench Sam stopped and carefully lowered the smaller man to sit on it.

“My van’s on the other side of the parking lot, how about you wait here and I’ll come pick you up?”

Rüdiger just nodded, not having the strength to argue anymore and he slumped down on the bench, tugging on Sam’s sweater to pull it tighter around him. “Okay...hurry back?”

“Of course, sit tight I’ll be right back.” Sam said, and broke into a jog as he headed off, silently hoping that his van for once wouldn’t give him any troubles starting.

Rüdiger didn’t know how long he was gone but by the time he vaguely heard a car stop somewhere close by he was struggling even keeping his eyes open and he whined when he felt a hand shaking his shoulder.

“Hnng, noo..”

“Come on Rüdiger, just a little while longer and you’ll get to sleep, I promise.” He heard Sam murmur close to his ear and this time when Sam’s arms went around his shoulders and under his knees he didn’t protest when Sam lifted him up and cradled him against his chest, in fact he even whined when he was set back down carefully, making Sam smile at him softly.


	2. Chapter 2

The drive to Sam’s place was quiet, Sam was fairly certain Digger passed out as soon as he’d started driving and he kept glancing at the man constantly throughout the short distance. He almost felt bad when he had to wake him up once they arrived.

“Rü...Rüdiger, we’re here.” Sam said and gently shook the older man’s shoulder, then sighed when that didn’t seem to have any effect and he quickly got out of the car, walking over to the passenger side and opening the door. “Come on sleepy head...wake up, or do you suddenly want me to carry you after all?” He added teasingly and grinned when that finally made the smaller man whine.

“Do I really have to…’m comfy here...” Rüdiger mumbled and only curled up more in the seat.

“Well I think you’d feel much more comfortable in an actual bed, I’m pretty sure it’ll get cold out here soon.” Sam chuckled and went to unbuckle his seatbelt.

“Hng, fine...h-help me up…?” Rüdiger asked quietly as he slowly straightened up and moved his legs to the side, not daring to lift his gaze from the ground when he felt Sam put his arm around his middle again and helped him stand up, and he was glad when Sam just led them inside in silence and didn’t comment on how heavily he was leaning against him.

“I know you’re exhausted but...” Sam started as he closed the front door after them. “I think a shower would make you feel a little better, think you could handle that?”

“Y-yeah I think so...and I’d really like that, I feel so stinky and filthy…”

Sam chuckled at that and lead them towards the bathroom. “Haha, I swear the best part about every day is to get that hot shower at the end of the day.” He said, stopping right outside the door. “I can um, borrow you some clean clothes. There're towels in the cabinet under the sink and soap and shampoo and all that stuff’s in the shower stall.” He explained as he slowly let go of the smaller man, staying close by for a moment to be sure he could stand on is own.

“Got it...thanks...I owe you, again.”

“Put it on my tab.”

They both chuckled at that and Sam watched for a moment as Rüdiger slowly entered the bathroom, then as if snapping out it he shook his head and backtracked back to the front door to tug off his shoes, only then remembering he’d given the other man his sweater, leaving him in just his dirty t-shirt and he made a face at himself and he made a mental note to remember he needed a shower as well.

Then he headed to his bedroom to rummage through his wardrobe for some clean clothes and he smiled, even his older shirts would most definitely be huge for the smaller man, at least the sweatpants had a waistband. He also went to pick up a fresh set of sheets and threw them on his bed before he went to drop off the clothes for the older man.

“Rüdiger?” He called and knocked on the door before daring to open it enough to peek inside. “I got you some clothes, sorry they’re probably a bit too big for you...” He said, keeping his eyes firmly on the floor as he stepped inside enough to leave the garments next to the sink.

“It’s okay, thanks.” Rüdiger mumbled and from the corner of his eye Sam could just barely make out his figure through the shower curtain leaning heavily against the wall.

“You alright?”

“Yeah...just...don’t wanna come out yet, ‘s warm here...” Rüdiger said in what could only be described as a whiny tone and Sam could immediately picture him pouting. “Sorry I’m wasting your water.”

“It’s alright, I’m guilty of doing the same sometimes too.” Sam chuckled. “Take your time.” He added before slipping out of the room to make the bed ready, quickly peeling off the old crumpled up sheets and throwing them by the door before fumbling the new ones on. And once he was done with that he started tidying up, cursing himself for being such a slob as he picked up days old coffee mugs and haphazardly discarded dirty clothes.

By the time Rüdiger stumbled out of the bathroom, still towel drying his hair, Sam was just taking away the last of the dirty dishes and he stopped on his tracks, not quite helping himself as he took in the sight of the smaller man in his clothes and immediately deciding the soft blush on his cheeks was definitely a good look on him.

“Uh...I um, you can sleep in the bedroom, I just tidied up a bit.”

“Oh no, but...where will you sleep then?”

“The couch.” Sam said simply and finally managed to tear his eyes away and walked past the other man to rid himself of the dirty mugs. “Don’t worry, I sleep on it plenty anyway, it’s not that bad.” He added with a soft chuckle.

“Are you sure?” Rüdiger asked hesitantly and looked at the furniture in question a little doubtfully, noticing the pillow and worn out blanket already on it.

“Yeah, besides I’m not that tired anyway, I was going to watch some tv.” Sam said as he set to load the dishwasher, then apparently realising something and he turned to look at the smaller man wide eyed. “Shit I’m a terrible host, are you hungry by the way?” He asked and Rüdiger couldn’t help but giggle at his expression.

“No, not really, just tired...so if you’re really sure...I’d really rather just go sleep.” Rüdiger said and yawned, making Sam smile at him before he quickly picked up a clean glass and filled it with water, then handing it over to the older man.

“Of course, but here take this, you should at least try to drink a bit.”

“Thanks...I’ll try. Um, goodnight...”

“Goodnight, Rüdiger.”

Sam watched him go, smiling as Rüdiger took a few tentative sips from the glass before he disappeared into the bedroom and once he heard the door click shut he let out a long breath he hadn’t even realised he’d been holding. He had a strange feeling his life was about to become a whole lot more...interesting.


	3. Chapter 3

“Soooo...?” Jan started slowly, a wide smirk spreading on his lips as he watched Rüdiger loosen Florinchellie’s girth. They had just finished training for the day, the trainer long gone before they’d even stopped to jump off their horses. “How did it go the other night? You were _so_ vague on the phone yesterday, spill it, I want all the details.” 

“What...what details?” Rüdiger asked confused as he lifted the reins from his horse’s neck and started walking, Jan following close by with his horse.

“Duh! You said you spent the night at Sam’s place, what happened?!” Jan pressed insistently, he’d been dying to ask about it all day.

“I was sick! Nothing happened, he just...he helped me take care of Chellie and then he took me to his place because it was closer and I really needed to rest. That’s it, that’s all that happened.” Rüdiger explained with a hint of annoyance in his voice. He was still feeling a little off, he was tired and sore and just not in the mood to be teased by his best friend.

“You let him take care of Chellie?!” Jan exclaimed, actually looking at the other man quite shocked. “You barely even let me lead her.”

“Again, I was really sick I didn’t...I didn’t really have a choice.” Rüdiger muttered and absentmindedly stroked Florinchellie’s neck, keeping his eyes firmly glued on the ground. “And...and I don’t know, Sam’s...Sam is really good with her, okay. She likes him...”

“Uhuh, and that wouldn’t have to have anything to do with, I don’t know, _her owner_ really liking him too, now would it?” Jan asked teasingly. 

“N-no...Jan can we please just drop this? Nothing happened, I slept, he took me home the next morning. That. Is. All.” Rüdiger actually pleaded as he stopped to look at the other man. “Please. I’m tired and I just...it just wouldn’t work out anyway, okay, nothing is ever going to happen.”

“How can you know that? It’s obvious he likes you.” Jan stated simply, though when Rüdiger quickly looked away at that he couldn’t help but smirk, he didn’t need to see to know the other man was blushing.

“It...it’s not. Sam’s nice to everyone. And...and just he’s _too_ nice, especially for...for someone like me...” 

“Oh come onnn Rüdi! That’s the stupidest excuse I’ve ever heard. Just fucking go for it, live a little, you’ve been so focused on school and riding you need to loosen up a little.” Jan sighed dramatically, almost spooking his horse a little with his sudden arm flailing and he quickly turned to coo and apologise to the horse, petting her gently.

“But what if it doesn’t work out?” Rüdiger asked quietly, his eyes still firmly glued on the ground.

“Well then it doesn’t. But at least you wouldn’t be wondering ‘what if’ later.” Jan said seriously, giving the other man a meaningful look. “And besides, what if it does work out? You’ve whined for so long how much you _need_ a boyfriend, Sam would be perfect.”

“I...w-we’ll see...” Rüdiger muttered and internally sighed in relief when they finally reached the stables so he could busy himself with taking care of his horse. He knew Jan had a point, and he knew Jan was actually one of the few people who genuinely wanted him to be happy. But he just wasn’t quite ready to make a move just yet.


End file.
